W.Va. public broadcasting cuts in works

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia Public Broadcasting's executive director proposed more than $180,000 in spending cuts Wednesday, and warned that deeper budget reductions could be on the way.

Dennis Adkins unveiled the cuts as part of a "strategic plan" requested by Educational Broadcasting Authority board members.

"We can't be in a growth mode," Adkins said during a meeting in Charleston. "We have to buckle the hatches down until the economy improves."

Board members took no action on Adkins' proposals. Instead, they went behind closed doors to discuss a "personnel issue" -- presumably Adkins' job performance -- for about an hour. Adkins did not attend the closed session.

In June, board members ordered Adkins to propose a revised budget and strategic plan to keep Public Broadcasting solvent.

The agency had to relinquish $180,000 in unspent funds to the state this summer. The money was left over because several vacant employee positions went unfilled. Public Broadcasting was allowed to carry over unspent funds in previous years.

"They swooped in and took it [this year]," Adkins told board members.

In response, Adkins proposed the following cuts Wednesday:

* End the agency's membership in a lobbying group, the Association of American Public Television Stations -- a $26,000 savings.

* Switch funding for two employee positions. The change would save $65,500.

* Cancel subscriptions for Nielsen Ratings reports for the Charleston and Huntington markets, as well as an Arbitron radio report -- a combined $25,300 in savings.